Press Shia – The representative of West Azerbaijan in the Assembly of Experts referred to the effect of Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership and Ayatollah al-Sistani’s ‘obligatory jihad’ fatwa in the victory of the resistance front over Daesh.

Press Shia Agency – In an interview with Reza News Agency, Hujjat al-Islam Askar Dirbaz, the representative of the people West Azerbaijan province in the Assembly of Experts, referred to the special role of the sources of emulation in the defeat of Daesh, and said, “Most people are present on the battlefield due to religious motives and performing their duties. Also, the sources of emulation are also the largest, strongest and most credible support to create religious motivation in the fight against the enemies.”

The dean of the University of Qom stated, “Each war inflicts financial and psychological damage on humankind but when the sources of emulation recommend and encourage a region or a country to be present on the battlefield, the people will go the battlefield with a strong, reliable and peaceful motivation.”

Hujjat al-Islam Dirbaz argued that the victory of the Islamic Resistance Forces over the Wahhabi-Takfiri terrorists was undoubtedly due to the fact that they paid attention to the “obligatory jihad fatwa” issued by the revered source of emulation, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani, and they were able to stand against the terrorists upon the basis of religious trust.

His Eminence said that the positions taken by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, have a very significant regional and international effect and noted, “Many people of the same period of the eight-year-long Imposed War [Iran-Iraq War] have stressed that the most intelligent political figure in Iran after the founder of the Islamic Revolution [Imam Khomeyni] is the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution.”

He added that from very first days of the appearance of Daesh on the world stage, the Supreme Leader had correctly assessed the that the United States and the Zionist regime had trained and resolutely called for a comprehensive struggle against this group and stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran will support the Islamic Resistance movement in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.

Hujjat al-Islam Dirbaz saying that Daesh has been hit hard by the forces of the Popular Mobilization Forces and argued, “As the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution has said, we cannot expect anything from the enemies except hostility. The believing and resistant forces of the Popular Mobilization Forces are composed of members of a popular militia and for this reason, in order to eliminate all of these forces that pose an obstacle to them, the United States must eliminate all of the Iraqi people – which will not occur.

The Popular Mobilization Forces are an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization composed of some 40 militias, which are mainly Shi’ah Muslim groups, but also includes Sunni Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi individuals as well.

The Popular Mobilization Forces were formed after a non-sectarian fatwa was issued by Ayatollah al-Sistani calling for national mobilization against the Daesh in June 2014.